AP-3C: Royal Australian Air Force P-3C/W aircraft which have been extensively upgraded by L-3 Communications with new mission systems, including an Elta SAR/ISAR radar and a GD-Canada acoustic processor system.

CP-140A Arcturus: Three P-3s without ASW equipment for Canadian Aurora crew training and various coastal patrol missions.

P-7 proposed new-build and improved variant as a P-3 Orion replacement later canceled.

Orion 21 proposed new-build and improved variant as a P-3 Orion replacement; lost to the Boeing P-8 Poseidon.

P-3K2: Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 aircraft which have been fully upgraded with totally new mission systems by L-3 Mission Integration Division, Greenville, Texas. The flight deck now has ‘glass’ instrumentation and navigation computer automation. The Tactical Rail (Tacrail) has been completely refitted with modern sensors, communication and data management systems.

In 2002, the RAAF received significantly upgraded AP-3C. Also known as Australian Orions they are fitted with a variety of sensors. They include digital multi-mode radar, electronic support measures, electro-optics detectors (infra-red and visual), magnetic anomaly detectors, identification friend or foe systems, and acoustic detectors. The Lockheed P-8 Poseidon is gradually replacing them.

Chilean Navy – four P-3A; based at Base Aeronaval Torquemada, Concón. Three used as patrol aircraft, one used for personnel transport. Chile plans to extend their service lives past 2030 by changing the wings, modernizing the engines, and integrating the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.

Hellenic Air Force – six P-3B operated jointly with the Hellenic Navy, not in operable condition as of 2015, 4 of the planes are undergoing maintenance as of 2016 which should return them to airworthy condition

Royal New Zealand Air Force – six P-3K2 (5 Sqn); based in RNZAF Base Auckland. Operated by 5 SQN. Five were originally delivered in 1966 as P-3Bs. Another was purchased from the RAAF in 1985, following which all were upgraded to their current standard. Currently undergoing various mission system upgrades by L-3 Communications Canada and now designated as P-3K2. Due to be replaced in 2025 with equivalent level of capability, either manned or unmanned.

Pakistan Naval Air Arm – ~Four P-3C; based in Naval aviation base Faisal, Karachi. Upgraded P-3C MPA and P-3B AEW models (equipped with Hawkeye 2000 AEW system) ordered in 2006, first upgraded P-3C delivered in early 2007. In June 2010, two more upgraded P-3Cs joined the Pakistan Navy with anti-ship and submarine warfare capabilities. Two aircraft were destroyed in an attack by armed militants at the Mehran Naval Airbase.

Spanish Air Force – Two P-3A HWs, four P-3B ( ex-Norway) being upgraded to P-3M, based at Morón Air Base. The Spanish AF bought five P-3B from Norway in 1989 and it was planned to upgrade all five to M standard, however, due to budgetary constraints only four are to be upgraded, the remaining aircraft being used as spares source.

Republic of China Air Force(1966–1967) – Least known of all P-3 family. Three P-3As (149669, 149673, 149678) were obtained by CIA from the U.S. Navy under Project STSPIN in May 1963, as the replacement aircraft for CIA’s own covert operation fleet of RB-69A/P2V-7U versions. Converted by Aerosystems Division of LTV at Greenville, Texas, the three P-3As were simply known as “black” P-3As under “Project Axial”. Officially transferred from U.S. Navy to CIA on June/July 1964, LTV Aerosystems converted the three aircraft to be both ELINT and COMINT platform. First of three “black” P-3As arrived in Taiwan and officially transferred to ROCAF’s top secret Black Bat Squadron on 22 June 1966. Armed with four Sidewinder short range AAM missiles for self-defense, the three “black” P-3A flew peripheral missions along the China coast to collect SIGINT and air samples. When the project was terminated in January 1967, all three “black” P-3As were flown to NAS Alameda, CA, for long term storage. In September 1967, Lockheed at Burbank, converted two of the three aircraft (149669 and 149678) into the only two EP-3B examples in existence in the world, while the third aircraft (149673) was converted by Lockheed in 1969–1970 to serve as a development aircraft for various electronic programs. The two EP-3Bs known as “Bat Rack”, owing to their short period of service with Taiwan’s “Black Bat” Squadron, were issued to U.S. Navy’s VQ-1 Squadron in 1969 and deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam. Later, the two EP-3Bs were converted to EP-3E ARIES, along with seven EP-3As. The two EP-3Es retired in the 1980s, when replaced by 12 EP-3E ARIES II versions.

Republic of China Navy – 12 P-3Cs (Ordered, with deliveries starting in 2012), with three “spare” airframes that might be converting to EP-3E standard; based in south part of the island and offshore island. In May 2014 Lockheed Martin were awarded a contract to upgrade and overhaul all 12 P-3Cs for completion by August 2015.

Notable events, accidents, and incidents

30 January 1963: United States Navy P-3A BuNo 149762 was lost at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, 14 crew killed.

4 July 1966: Lockheed P-3A Orion, BuNo 152172, construction number 185-5142, assigned to VP-19, Radio call sign Papa Echo Zero Five (PE-05), crashed 7 miles (11 km) northeast Battle Creek, MI. The P-3A Orion was on the return leg of a cross country training flight from NAS New York-Floyd Bennett Field, New York to NAS Moffett Field, California via NAS Glenview, Illinois., all four crew lost.

6 March 1969: USN P-3A BuNo 152765 tail coded RP-07 of VP-31 crashed at NAS Lemoore, California, at the end of a practice ground control approach (GCA) landing, all six crew died.

28 January 1971: Commander Donald H. Lilienthal, USN flew a P-3C Orion to a world speed record for heavyweight turboprops. Over 15–25 kilometers, he reached 501 miles per hour to break the Soviet Il-18‘s May 1968 record of 452 miles per hour.

26 May 1972: USN P-3A BuNo 152155 disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on a routine training mission after departing NAS Moffett Field, California with the loss of eight crew members.

12 April 1973: A United States Navy P-3C BuNo 157332 operating from NAS Moffett Field, California collided with a Convair CV-990 (N711NA) operated by NASA during approach to runway 32R. The aircraft crashed on the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) short of the runway, resulting in destruction of both aircraft and the death of all but one crewmember.

26 April 1978: USN P-3B BuNo 152724 from VP-23 crashed on landing approach to Lajes Field, Azores. Seven of the crew were killed and the plane sank into deep water preventing recovery to assess the cause of the crash.

22 September 1978: USN P-3B BuNo 152757 from VP-8 disintegrated over Poland, Maine on 22 September 1978. An over-pressurized fuel tank caused the port wing to separate at the outboard engine.[65] The detached wing sheared off part of the tail; and aerodynamic forces caused the remaining engines and starboard wing to detach from the fuselage. Debris rained down near the south end of Tripp Pond shortly after 12:00. There were no survivors from the plane’s 8-man crew.

26 October 1978: USN P-3C BuNo 159892 call sign coded AF 586 from VP-9 operating from NAS Adak ditched at sea after an engine fire caused by a propeller malfunction. Ten of the 15-man crew were rescued by a Soviet trawler.

27 June 1979: P-3B BuNo 154596 from VP-22 operating from NAS Cubi Point Philippines, had a propeller overspeed shortly after departure. The number 4 propeller then departed the aircraft striking the number three with a subsequent fire on that engine. While attempting an overweight landing with 2 engines out, the aircraft stalled, rolled inverted and crashed in Subic Bay just past Grande Island. Four crew and one passenger were killed in the crash.

17 April 1980: USN P-3C BuNo 158213 from VP-50 while flying for a parachuting exhibition in Fiji, struck overhead tram wires and crashed, killing all six crew on board.

17 May 1983: USN P-3B BuNo 152733 tail coded YB-07 from VP-1 inadvertently landed gear up during a routine dedicated field work (DFW) pilot training flight at NAS Barbers Point. No crew were injured but the aircraft was a total loss.

16 June 1983: USN P-3B BuNo 152720 tail coded YB-06 from VP-1 at NAS Barbers Point crashed into a mountain top in fog and low clouds on the Napali Coast between the Hanapu and Kalalau valleys in Kauai, Hawai’i shortly after 0400 hours, killing all 14 on board.

13 September 1987: A Royal Norwegian Air Force P-3B, tail number “602”, is hit from below by a Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 of the 941st IAP V-PVO. The Su-27 flew below the P-3’s starboard side, then accelerated and pulled up, clipping the #4 engine’s propellers. The propeller shrapnel hit the Orion’s fuselage and caused a decompression. There were no injuries and both aircraft returned safely to base.

25 September 1990: The first production model P-3C Update III, BuNo 161762, assigned to VP-31 at NAS Moffett Field, impacted the runway at an excessive rate of descent while conducting at dedicated field work sortie at Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Crows Landing. Both main landing gear failed and the aircraft slid down the runway. Some crewmembers sustained minor injuries, but there were no fatalities. The aircraft was a total loss.

21 March 1991: While on a training mission west of San Diego, California, two U.S. Navy P-3C Orions, BuNos 158930 and 159325 assigned to VP-50 based at NAS Moffett Field collided in midair, killing all 27 crew on board both aircraft.

26 April 1991: AP-3C, tail number A9-754 of the Royal Australian Air Force, lost a wing leading edge and crashed into shallow water in the Cocos Island; one crewman was killed. Aircraft was cut up and used as an artificial reef. The head investigator of this incident was RAAF FLTLT Richard Hall.

25 March 1995: USN P-3C BuNo 158217 assigned to VP-47 was returning from a training mission in the North Arabian Sea when it suffered catastrophic engine failure of the number 4 engine. The aircraft ditched at sea 2 miles (3.2 km) from RAFO Masirah, Oman. All 11 crew members were rescued by the Royal Omani Air Force.

16 October 1991: P-3A N924AU of Aero Union crashed into a mountain in Montana, United States killing both crew.

22 May 2011: Twenty Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants claiming to avenge Osama Bin Laden‘s death destroyed two Pakistan Navy P-3C Orions during an armed attack at PNS Mehran, a heavily guarded base of the Pakistan Navy located in Karachi. The aircraft had been readily used by the Pakistani military in overland counter-insurgency surveillance operations.

15 February 2014: Three US Navy P-3C Orions were crushed “beyond repair” when their hangar, at NAF Atsugi, Japan was destroyed due to a massive snow storm.

Specifications (P-3C Orion)

P-3 aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and the United States Navy (with RAAF Dassault Mirage III)

Hardpoints: 10 wing stations in total (3x on each wing and 2x on each wing root) and eight internal bomb bay stations with a capacity of 20,000 lb (9,100 kg)[1] and provisions to carry combinations of: